They were based out of Summerville, South Carolina, rarely traveling to Platinum City, where most of the Veil hunters called home. They didn’t necessarily have anything against the others; they simply preferred the southern comforts over the flash and dazzle of big city lights, even if they did have to deal with a little bit of backward thinking from a few segments of society that still struggled with the notion of multiculturalism.

But generally speaking, although their identities as deadly Veil hunters wasn’t public knowledge to the people in their town, Quintonice’s family was regarded as people you did not want to mess with. Her uncles were brutish individuals, and her mother was no slouch herself. And that’s not to mention Quintonice’s father, M’Deigh Rogers, who was not a Veil hunter, but could hold his own in most any situation. It probably helped that he was one of the town’s deputies.

Quintonice’s family loved a good barbeque, and her uncle Horace was known for developing his own sauce recipes. In the summer time they’d invite friends over, and eat and talk late into the night. Quin was usually the only kid at the gatherings, but she loved listening to grown ups speak about society, politics, religion and more. Then after all the others left, the Philadelphia hunters would sit around the bonfire in the backyard, and tell tall tales of battles against ghost orphans and reapers. For the most part Quin would just listen with eagerness and glee as they recounted their adventures, and laughed about their many close calls with death. But by the time she was 16, she was able to participate in the discussions, as she had finally participated in her first hunt, and officially earned her Veil name, Philadelphia.

Her first hunt wasn’t really much to write home about, in the grand scheme of things – a local low-life had gotten a little too brazen with a string of petty thefts, and M’Deigh had been called in to track him down and arrest him. They had, however, discovered he was a ghost orphan, and instead M’Deigh and Genesis sent their daughter to hunt him down and send him to heaven. That night she jumped on her bicycle, and rode around town until she found him, sleeping by a dumpster behind a supermarket. She engaged the orphan and easily defeated him.

When she returned home, her parents and uncles were eagerly waiting for her! They cheered as she walked through the door, then took her out back, where a bonfire was already raging. As with all Veil hunters, despite being born under one of the seven bloodlines, they cannot officially take on the name of their respective Veil House until they complete their first hunt. On this night, Quintonice Rogers was able to take on the the noble name of Quintonice Philadelphia.

For the rest of the night, she talked and laughed with her parents and uncles, and they encouraged her to exaggerate the details of her hunt, in order to make it sound like something out of a science-fiction action movie. By the time the Sun came up, she wasn’t sure which parts of her own story were true, and which were embellished. It was one of the best nights of her life.

A few years later, she would have one of the worst.

Quintonice, like all Veil children, had enrolled in Platinum City University. Two decades prior her distant cousin, – and legendary hunter – Disa Philadelphia, had formed a partnership with PCU, which would allow kids from the seven bloodlines to attend for free, while continuing to train in the Deep Wing of the school. Quintonice had just entered her third year of studies, when the Seven Week Walk began. Thousands of ghost orphans were marching around the Central Administration Complex, and an ominous prophecy had predicted the Veil would meet its demise at the end of the seven weeks. The hunters could not simply go out and confront the marchers, for the general public had no idea what a ghost orphan was, and it would look strange to see a bunch of people with swords, attacking what seemed to be a group of peaceful protesters.

During the fourth week of the march, the Platinum City Quakes Football team won the NCAA national championship, and when tens of thousands of students took to the streets to celebrate the win, they ended up clashing with the marchers, and a riot ensued! A number of marchers unleashed their ghost orphan powers, and a number of Veil hunters were forced to pull out their living-blades, and attack.

Quintonice, along with fellow hunters Terrance Sardis and Mio Sardis, found themselves right in the middle of the fray. Quintonice, who was carrying her blade in an instrument case, brandished her weapon with expertise, and took down over a dozen ghost orphans. As she continued to battle, however, gunshots rang out! She turned to see that Mio had been shot by a drunken student, who was wildly waving a gun at the paranormal beings that were currently filling the areas around him.

Several members of the Platinum City Police Force arrived on the scene, and took the gunman down. Quintonice had just finished slicing down another pair of ghost orphans, when a group of police officers surrounded her, trained their weapons on her, and ordered her to drop her sword. She complied, and was promptly arrested and taken to a holding facility. Her blade was confiscated, and she was forced to sit alone in a holding cell for over ten hours.

Finally Disa Philadelphia was allowed to come in. Quintonice was elated to see her, and jumped up to hug her. After the embrace, however, reality hit, as Disa informed Quintonice that the police were preparing to charge her with the crime of inciting a riot, which also meant that she would also be held responsible for the deaths of over twenty students and protesters.

This revelation hit her like a ton of bricks. Disa explained to her that the Veil had very good lawyers they could call on, and that they would fight for her freedom. However, because the hunters could not simply tell authorities about ghost orphans, it would be difficult to explain why she was wielding a sword in the middle of the campus. Additionally, her enrollment status at Platinum City University had been revoked, for any students under the investigation for crimes, such as what she was being accused of, were not permitted to attend.

Quintonice’s world was falling apart. And to top it off, her mother and uncles were off on a dangerous hunt, and would probably not be able to be reached for at least another 24 hours. By then, however, it would possibly be too late, as the Platinum City District Attorney was notorious for moving very quickly in securing spots in the supermax prison for suspects in high profile cases. At that point, no one but her lawyer would be able to speak to her.

Quintonice broke down into tears; Disa tried to comfort her, but a few moments later the door opened, and the elder hunter was told that her visiting time was up. Disa again promised Quin she would do everything she could to help her. Then, after one final hug, the door was slammed shut, and Quintonice was left in her holding cell, all alone.

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